{"id":4036,"date":"2010-12-22T09:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-22T09:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/12\/the-catholic-scandal-that-just-wont-die.html"},"modified":"2010-12-22T09:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T09:12:00","slug":"the-catholic-scandal-that-just-wont-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/12\/the-catholic-scandal-that-just-wont-die.html","title":{"rendered":"The Catholic scandal that just won’t die"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In the end, the sex abuse scandal has been an embarrassment to the Catholic Church.\u00a0 There\u2019s no denying it.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not because priests were raping babies, or even the more balanced reality that priests were abusing all age groups of minors within their care.\u00a0 Most fair minded individuals know that the pandemic of sex abuse and pedophilia goes well beyond the borders of the Catholic Church. The stats are clear, the facts obvious, and only those with anti-Catholic bigotry in their agendas will try to suggest that the abuse of children is somehow unique to the Catholic Church.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

But anyway, we needn\u2019t argue that sexual abuse is not a result of anything uniquely Catholic.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what bothers most fair minded people.\u00a0 What bothers said people is the systemic, almost institutionalized cover up by the hierarchy.\u00a0 While many are trying to\u00a0put faces and names on that cover up (as in, Pope Benedict), even without a clear link\u00a0to the Pontiff, it\u2019s clear that cover ups happened, and that it was more than just a few renegade bishops.\u00a0 That is what sets the Church abuse apart.\u00a0 Not that cover ups don\u2019t happen in smaller environments, such as a Protestant congregation, a local school, or a university.\u00a0 But this is where that single attribute of Catholicism \u2013 the single, bureaucratic hierarchy that links a global\u00a0faith with over a billion adherents \u2013 comes back around to haunt the Church.\u00a0 Because each and every time a bishop or a priest did do something, the entire Church stands guilty.<\/p>\n

And since it appears that\u00a0 there was more than just a few renegade bishops, that there were ongoing attempts, if not to\u00a0cover up, then at least to cover the rear ends of \u2018The Priesthood\u2019, it plays to the old notions of a giant, corrupt, self-serving religious spectacle.\u00a0 And that alone is bad. <\/p>\n

In this story<\/a>, victims rights groups are accusing a bishop \u2013 Bishop David Zubik of Green Bay \u2013 of destroying the psychological records of priests, ostensibly as part of the cover up.\u00a0 The Bishop is saying it never happened, that destroying any records was simply a matter of policy, and records of any priest under litigation were never to be destroyed.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what caught my eye.\u00a0The following paragraph in which the\u00a0bishop outlines the practices and procedures of his diocese:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c[I]t had been diocesan practice in Green Bay not to destroy documents in priest files \u2014 even after a priest had died \u2014 if there was litigation involving that priest or any pending claims. I reinforced that practice by having it formally written into the diocesan records retention policy in 2007.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Two things.\u00a0 First, a reminder to the non-Catholic universe.\u00a0 As much as the Catholic Church can give the appearance of\u00a0a giant business where the Pope is CEO and President of Catholicism, Inc, it really doesn\u2019t work that way.\u00a0 Truth be told, the Bishops are still the driving force of the Church, and contrary to popular belief, they have much\u00a0leeway when it comes to how they administer their charges.\u00a0 Oh, there are standards to be sure.\u00a0 But the Church does not micromanage everything.\u00a0 Just look at the key words in the sentence: \u2018It had been diocesan practice in Green Bay not to destroy\u2026\u2019\u00a0 Practice in Green Bay.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t that mean it\u2019s different in other diocesan practice?\u00a0 <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Also, the very fact that they had procedures in place to handle priests accused of this or that suggests what?\u00a0 That priests have been accused of things for many, many years.\u00a0 And this is what folks need to remember.\u00a0 The biggest problem with the Catholic Church is the same problem any organization has: people.\u00a0 We used to say in my Protestant days that if you find a perfect church, then stay away.\u00a0 Because as soon as you walk through the doors it will stop being perfect.\u00a0 Same with the Catholic Church.\u00a0 The Church, filled with tens upon tens of thousands of priests, bishops, and other leaders both lay and ordained, has its hands full.\u00a0 Especially with the scrutiny brought on by the abuse scandal.\u00a0 All it takes is one single case to be exposed, and suddenly the press winds up the story of the Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis all over again.\u00a0 Even one.\u00a0 Out of tens of thousands and hundreds of millions of faithful.\u00a0 It only takes one. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So try to keep things in perspective.\u00a0 Obviously the Church, being filled with people, has been aware for many ages that priests can sometimes do wrong, and has policies for dealing with those problems.\u00a0 Those policies give testimony to the Church\u2019s admission of its own frailties.\u00a0 Likewise, remember that just because one priest or one bishop did something, it doesn\u2019t mean the 2000 year history of the Catholic Faith is guilty.\u00a0 As we are so forgiving of modern Islam despite the bloodshed and violence, so should we be forgiving of the Church.<\/div>\n
This isn\u2019t to say the Church hasn\u2019t dropped the ball.\u00a0 As I said, many of its actions and reactions have angered people, especially when it appears that the first priority of the hierarchy was CYA<\/a>.\u00a0 That will usually be a mark against the best of them.\u00a0 But keep it all in perspective.\u00a0 Ignore the obvious anti-Catholic bigotry, and look to what really happened, and what really didn\u2019t.\u00a0 The best way to solve a problem is to be honest about just what the problem was int he first place. <\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the end, the sex abuse scandal has been an embarrassment to the Catholic Church.\u00a0 There\u2019s no denying it.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not because priests were raping babies, or even the more balanced reality that priests were abusing all age groups of minors within their care.\u00a0 Most fair minded individuals know that the pandemic of sex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Catholic scandal that just won't die<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the end, the sex abuse scandal has been an embarrassment to the Catholic Church.  There's no denying it.  And it's not because priests were\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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